Redmask wrote on Dec 9, 2014, 11:44:I think the game is pretty stable for the most part but the interface and design shit is all consoleland. We have more of a console version that runs on a PC rather than an actual PC version at the moment, that's what I'm hoping they patch up.

It's not quite that bad, at least we got proper graphical options and keyboard bindings. God it's sad that I'm saying that as if its something to be grateful about and not just an expectation for releasing games on this platform I've seen worse ports but I do agree that they didn't give the PC any real attention. The annoying thing is their marketing smokescreen pre-release about how the PC version was getting serious attention. The tactical camera turns out to be terrible and nothing else materialized. Oh well, I hope they get moving on these patches. Supposedly the Xbox 360 patch is up right now, hopefully PC to follow.

Xero wrote on Dec 9, 2014, 11:00:I haven't read into this one too much, nor watched that many videos to prevent spoiling it. Can anyone confirm that it plays similar to the original Dragon Age Origins?

I only ask because Dragon Age 2 sucked major in the direction they took it. I preferred the original much much more.

I'm about to put together a beast of a PC rig finally and planning on some big titles to go a long with it and this is one I have in mind but not sure just yet about jumping on it. The idea that they are releasing free content is awesome but not a deciding point when I buy games.

It doesn't play that similar to DA:O to be honest, its off kinda doing its own thing. The conversational style stuff is vintage Bioware, the rest of the game has a different feel. It's somewhere between DA:O and DA2 with a bit of MMO trappings mixed in. You should watch a few videos to see if it'll be up your alley or not. I personally like it but the game has plenty of flaws and stuff that might drive some people nuts. The storyline and main quests are the high points of the game, the zone exploration is also pretty fun due to great art/map design.

I'm not giving them any points for free content either, they shipped the PC version in a pretty sorry state and the game has consolitis all over it. I don't really know what their version of fixes will be either so I'll judge that when we have it in hand.

Redmask wrote on Dec 9, 2014, 07:25:The UI is a piece of shit that I hate interacting with.

Yeah I ranted about this in a previous topic, its terrible. The worst part is that they tried to make something that was good for multiplatform but in the end its not good on anything, I've seen complaints about it on all platforms. Full screen yet only uses a portion of displayable space. The codex is in size 30 font using caps, requiring a ridiculous amount of scrolling. Their implementation of categories and filters is awful. The crafting interface is inept and like throwing the dice, will I get something with a rune slot? Who knows! The comparison tools are basic and only usable in certain windows. The list goes on and on.

I remember the UI in DA2 and that's what they used as a base here, awful stuff. I really hope they revisit this in the next game. Speaking of next one, EA is awful mum about the sales of this game, does anyone know how it did?

PropheT wrote on Dec 8, 2014, 14:24:Unlike MMO's where you're required to do those things to progress or level, you really don't have to do them for those reasons in Inquisition at all. I find that I like those sorts of thing because they're objectives to be completed as I explore, rather than seeking out and completing fetch quests when I get to an area like it's a themepark design.

I just did the stuff I found enjoyable and ignored the tedious stuff as much as I could, there was a lot of it though. I think if anything they went a bit overboard on the repetitive stuff, probably because they were so sensitive to criticisms of people being short changed on content in DA2. The later zones have some cool stuff and I hope people don't miss out on it because they got burnt out.

Hard to implement my ass, devs are just lazy. The class system in that game was so awesome, every class and hybrid was not only viable but distinct and fun to play.

Dragon's Dogma was the shit, still no sign of Deep Down or a Dragons Dogma 2 unfortunately.

Fion wrote on Dec 8, 2014, 13:15:On the original topic, the only zone to do the 'mindless MMO fetch/kill/fedex' quests is the first open zone, Hinterlands.

Most of the other zones have the same sort of stuff, just in less volume. Find a note here, go drop off this thing or kill this guy. Collect some shards, find the astrariums, the Inquisition needs its main leader to pick more plants etc etc. I've done basically every zone in the game and while some are more interesting than others, they all share a lot of filler content. You can ignore some of it but if you want to get into crafting at all then you'll be doing a lot of collecting.

What the other zones are better at is that you can find a few tombs and the odd thing like that to shake the monotonous stuff in the game. You've also unlocked your companions by then and have their stuff to do. The Hinterlands zone quest is basically the main quest which doesn't help either, the other zones have a quest to take you through the area doing more interesting things.

Frijoles wrote on Dec 8, 2014, 12:36:How's the combat for non-archer classes? The combat for my archer is horrible. I barely even have to face the direction of a mob to shoot them. The combat is worse than an MMO, and the quests I've seen are the same (although I've read that's because I'm in the starter area). I played for a few hours and was bored out of my mind. I'm wondering if it's just that the archer class is shit.

Every class gets better once you get their spec in terms of combat options and stuff but it sounds like Archer just isn't your thing. I found it pretty fun to play but to each his own. Give 2H melee a shot.

To be honest most areas are like the starter area in the sense of having many dumb "quests" and 1-2 good ones that are actually worth the time. So yeah if you're tired of whatevers left in Hinterlands, move on. The story and zone quests are interesting, stick with those. Only do the MMO collection shit if it happens to be on the way, otherwise ignore it.

Creston wrote on Dec 8, 2014, 12:13:I thought the way they handled it with Dorian was actually pretty well done. You never have a clue that Dorian is gay until it's revealed as being THE major source of discontention between him and his father, who is the lord of a major house in Tevinter where homosexuality is perceived as abnormal and something to be ashamed of.

But then they also ramrod the transsexual crap of Bull's second-in-command down your throat in a way that serves zero purpose and adds literally nothing to the game in any, shape or form. "Look at us! We're including the transgenders! See how progressive we are!"

Still, at least they're trying, and they're getting better with the gay stuff. It doesn't do anything for me, but I don't mind it being in there now that I can just ignore it. DA2, otoh, pissed me off with it.

Yeah for sure. I can see how people would be a bit rankled by it in previous games, DA2 was especially obnoxious in how they handled it. I did forget about the social commentary with Krem though, the presentation there was a bit ham handed.

Axis wrote on Dec 8, 2014, 12:02:I don't have a source either just what I observe in the forum chatter. People certainly talk about it, mainly negative, but I don't see many saying "Bioware games are awesome, and romance options are one of the biggest reasons."

Hell your source is this thread, several of us piped up that we don't care for the romance silliness

Right there with you. "Romance" in previous BioWare titles amounted to the fevered wet dreams of virgin fan fiction enthusiasts. And sitting around the camp fire flirting with exotic and scantily clad wizards and warriors when the world is in peril? Get off your stupid ass and go kill a dragon, you pervert.

Axis wrote on Dec 8, 2014, 11:43:He basically said They (developers) include "him" in games to attempt to make gay people appear normal and accepted, when they are already normal and accepted - and only serves the developers interest, not gays. There was more but that was the jist of it.

For me, I feel any romance as an rpg line is annoying at best no matter how it's done or who it serves.

That's certainly a fair comment in some respects. In past Bioware games they haven't always handled it well and sometimes it comes off as a bit "we're so inclusive hooray us". That being said they're getting better about it, unlike past games they don't go out of their way to beat you over the head with their sexual preferences or gender identity. That information is there if you want it but characters don't define themselves based on it and it doesn't come off as preachy or self-serving for the dev.

WaltC wrote on Dec 8, 2014, 11:18:I find it disturbing because nothing is more boring to me than cartoon, pretend romances in a 3d RPG. Hopefully, this is something that can be easily bypassed completely. Ugh. Dime romance novels are everywhere...not needed inside 3d games, too.

You have to actually seek it out (its marked pretty clearly in conversations) so don't worry about it, safely ignored.

If you want to see scary sometime, look at the feedback forum on the Bioware boards. People get weird and fanatical about the romance stuff, its disturbing. I remember David Gaider saying that they started restricting race options for that stuff because the writing team has serious concerns about child molesters who kept petitioning them.

Sho wrote on Dec 8, 2014, 10:50:That sounds pretty sweet. Speaking of the lore though, do you think it'd be a problem that I sat out DA2?

Not really, just get a plot summary online and if you want to then fill out a few choices on Dragon Age Keep if you want to. You should check that site for your world state stuff from DA:O by the way, some people got like 10 hours in then found out their world state wasn't imported which has gotta suck. Check your choices, make any that are missing and then click the export to DA:I thing.

If you're really committed then you can burn through DA2 in like 15 hours if you don't do any sidequests though personally I don't think its worth bothering. The gist of it is Mages and Templars got into big fight in Kirkwall, now there's war blah blah blah start of DA:I happens a year after that.

Looking at the list I never did check out Valiant Hearts: The Great War, I gotta get to that.

Shadow of Mordor is not surprising at all I guess. Far Cry 4 either, most shooters this year were pretty underwhelming. All in all we had a few standouts but it was a pretty disappointing year. Watch_Dogs and Destiny were big letdowns IMO. Same with DriveClub.

Verno wrote on Dec 8, 2014, 10:31:It's a pretty good game in some ways and I suspect people who waited for the first patch will have a better time with it. If you really wanted another Dragon Ages: Origins, well this is not that. If you don't mind something sorta in between Origins and DA2 then this is certainly worth picking up. Many games deliver a lot less for $60 and even if you just did the main quest you'll get your moneys worth.

Thanks! So I guess if I prepare myself to resist any completionist tendencies and play it more like an adventure game for the main storyline I'd be good.

Sounds similar to Mass Effect 1 with its endless cut-and-paste side missions (all of which I played unfortunately ...).

Exactly. Do some of the collection stuff in each zone but if you go full on OCD the game gets tedious very quickly. Each zone has a quest that sorta takes you through it, those are worth doing. The companion quests you get are hit and miss, some good and some really dumb. When you start to get bored of a zone, just leave immediately and go somewhere else. The main quest line is where the game gets impressive, mixing up gameplay mechanics, storylines and compelling themes.

Also Normal is really Easy and Hard is really Normal. It's one of those things. If you want to be even remotely challenged play on Hard or Nightmare.

Sho wrote on Dec 8, 2014, 10:22:What's the verdict on this game? I kind of didn't pay attention.

It's much better than Dragon Age 2 but not quite as good as Origins in my opinion. It depends on what you're expecting to get from it. The combat is a bit of a mixed bag and more simplistic, something akin to an action RPG and an MMO now. There is a huge amount of timesink MMO collection stuff in the game. The art design is top notch and the areas are well designed for the most part (fuck the Forbidden Oasis and Exalted Plains) and once you get past the MMO shit there are a few cool short dungeons to check out. The main story line is roughly 50 hours long, assuming you don't do the collection shit. If you spend a lot of time on that then you're clocking in closer to 80+ hours. Where the game really shines is the main storyline, its very well done and has a lot of interesting choice/consequences. The companion cast is pretty good but not as memorable as Origins IMO. The interface is terrible for just about everything, very much designed for consoles there and I can't say anything good about it.

It's a pretty good game in some ways and I suspect people who waited for the first patch will have a better time with it. If you really wanted another Dragon Ages: Origins hardcore oldschool CRPG, well this is not that. If you don't mind something sorta in between Origins and DA2 then this is certainly worth picking up. Many games deliver a lot less for $60 and even if you just did the main quest you'll get your moneys worth.